A new generation of electronic devices including light-emitting diodes, field-effect transistors and photovoltaic cells as organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and organic light-emitting transistors (OLETs) is being fabricated using organic semiconductors as their active components. Conjugated polymer are useful in these devices as they combine the electrical properties of semiconductors with the mechanical properties of plastics. Moreover, these materials can be processed inexpensively by techniques such as spin-coating and ink jet printing. For this reason, they are finding applications in optoelectronic devices such as plastic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and photovoltaic cells. Because conjugated polymers can be designed to form active layers in these types of electronic devices, these polymers provide promising materials for optimizing the performance of existing devices as well as the development of new devices.
It is known that utilizing branched alkyl side chains in conjugated polymers, especially donor-acceptor conjugated polymers, is an effective method for improving the solubility of conjugated polymers as the side chain bulkiness efficiently reduces interchain interactions. However, branched alkyl side chains may have unsymmetric carbon centers which impart variation in configuration due to chirality. Little attention has been paid to the potential influence of alkyl side chain chirality on organic semiconductor performance.